"Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are absolutely the underdogs" - Andy Roddick downplays his opposition ahead of Pickleball Slam 3
Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are set to defend their Pickleball Slam title against Andy Roddick and Eugenie Bouchard in February 2025. In a recent promotional video, Roddick hilariously downplayed the defending champions and called them the "underdogs."
The Pickleball Slam 3 will take place on February 16, 2025, at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The event, which holds a $1 million prize pool, will be broadcast live on ESPN.
Several promotional videos have been released by the official Instagram account of the event with the latest one featuring 2003 US Open champion Roddick. He hilariously downplayed his compatriot Agassi but refused to say "anything bad" about the German tennis legend Graf.
"Andre and Steffi are absolutely the underdogs. Steffi's great, I will never say anything bad about Stef but they are the underdogs even in the face of Andre playing eight hours of pickleball a day for the last three years of his life. I mean, who thought it would ever come to that?" Roddick said in the promotional video.
In a previous video, Roddick humorously addressed how Agassi teamed up with his wife, Graf, effectively snubbing Roddick.
"I think Andre Agassi just kind of kicked me out of the event" - Andy Roddick opens up about being replaced by Steffi Graf at the Pickleball Slam
In 2023, the first edition of the Pickleball Slam was played at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino & Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. Andre Agassi had teamed up with Andy Roddick against John McEnroe and Michael Chang. Agassi and Roddick earned the win but in the second edition, a year later, Roddick was replaced by Steffi Graf.
Roddick addressed the replacement, stating:
"It was a weird thing for me to just totally carry Andre [Agassi] to victory and then he just kind of, I think he just kind of kicked me out of the event and went on with his business. I guess that’s what happens when you have a wife who's the best of all time as an option."
At Pickleball Slam 2 in 2024, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf got the better of McEnroe and Maria Sharapova. In February 2025, Roddick will return to the event but as Agassi's opponent. The 42-year-old will partner with Canadian tennis and pickleball player Eugenie Bouchard.